Puget Sound Ocean Acidification in Environmental News Again

The Seattle Timesreports today on ocean acidification research taking Puget Sound, a topic that our very own Maria Dolan tackled in last month's issue. In honor of today's front page ST story, here are a few photos from the magazine, including a few previously unpublished online.

Northwest Fisheries Science Laboratory biologist Paul McElhany collects plankton samples at NOAA's Mukilteo Research Station as part of his research on the effects of ocean acidification

McElhany continues his research, knowing that even small changes in pH levels could affect the species interactions of the entire marine ecosystem

McElhany in the lab

McElhany studies oysters in his Montlake lab

Dr. Richard Feely, senior scientist at NOAA, working with instruments designed to measure oceanic carbon levels at NOAA in Sand Point

How ocean acidification happens 1. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, after which a large quantity is then absorbed by the ocean. 2. When mixed with seawater, CO2 chemically changes into carbonic acid. 3. Carbonic acid lowers the ocean’s pH level, nudging it toward acidity. It also increases the water’s hydrogen ion concentration, which in turn limits organisms’ access to carbonate ions—essential to the formation of hard parts, such as shells.

A Pteropod dissolves: At right, a two-month time-lapse sequence showing what happens to a pteropod (2–3 mm) when exposed to surface seawater simulating CO2 conditions at the century’s end—assuming a “business-as-usual” CO2 emissions scenario.